Kerala government on Wednesday said it plans to further restrict groundwater use by PepsiCo at Palakkad plant in the context of severe drought in the state.
“The government will take stern measures to restrict usage of groundwater due to prevailing drought and if possible stop Pepsico from drawing it at its plant at Puthussery in Palakkad by using the power vested with it under the State Disaster Management Act,” Minister for Water Resources Mathew T Thomas told the Assembly.
The company has to reduce the water usage and government would take all possible steps regarding the matter, he added.
The minister further said the State Disaster Management Authority had already issued notice to PepsiCo to reduce consumption by 75 per cent. The company had responded that it brought down water use to 1.5 lakh litres per day from February 3.
PepsiCo has seven bore wells and consumes about 6.5 lakh litre per day.
Kerala government had declared the entire state drought hit in October 2016 itself due to drastic rainfall deficiency.
